Why we need to change the myth about part-time work being a killer of careers
An interview series with Gender and Diversity experts across sectors in Switzerland. How do they relate to their own gender? What are the current challenges and opportunities they see and what inspires them? The aim of this series is to bring awareness to gender and diversity work and inspire further action towards creating inclusive workplaces in Switzerland.
Our fourth interviewee is Simona Scarpaleggia, former CEO of IKEA Switzerland and former head of the Global IKEA Inga-group initiative “The future of our work”. Here she talks about the importance of positive and inclusive leadership for achieving gender equality and her own journey and motivations to become a gender equality advocate.
When and how did you realise that gender played a role in your own life and what motivated you to strive for gender equality?
Before working I didn't really think about my gender or experience it in a particular way. At home we were two sisters, my father was very open and our upbringing was liberal. As a student I did well and didn't notice particular difficulties as a woman.
As soon as I started working I realised that as a woman I had more obstacles. I remember this as the most difficult time for me. I was new in the world of work and my confidence was low. Many times I was the only woman in the room and I didn't want to be labeled according to the two most common stereotypical roles for women in business: either you are almost a man and act very though or you are a super caring, pleasing woman. Either of them would have killed my career. And I saw other women struggling with these issues.
The moment I got into a role with higher responsibility I started proactively speaking up and making concrete changes to advance gender equality. Before that it would have only sounded like complaining and it was important to me to take on a positive approach.
How has your own gender affected your leadership work?
It has always been important to me not to start with polarising the conversation. Gender equality is not about women against men or vice versa. We know that intelligence is equally distributed. We need to be aware that we have an untapped potential in our society when it comes to innovation, creativity and performance: women. It is a waste for the whole society not to utilise it.
My approach was never about standing and fighting, even though I can do that if the situation requires it. My purpose as a leader was to achieve success for everyone which is a completely different approach and a more inclusive one. Also men are brought up with strong stereotypes and this is a pity for them. At Ikea men are free to show their interests and personalities that go beyond work. We have several men in leadership positions who work part-time. I want to change the myth about part-time being a killer of careers. Sadly many companies view people working part-time as not committed. Most of the time it is actually the opposite.
What are the qualities a leader needs in order to advance and embody gender equality and inclusion?
Care, share and embrace – the dimensions of the feminine. Caring is about listening and showing empathy and understanding. Being inclusive, curious, resilient. These are all characteristics that were not considered as important 10 years ago since the system was even more patriarchal than today. Today this is not working anymore also because of increased digitalisation of work. We are bombarded with information and we cannot handle all of it alone. We need to work together - to listen, to trust one another - in order to connect the dots.
What is your biggest challenge in this work?
Going from words to action. I have been in Switzerland for 10 years now and I see progress in terms of the attention given to the importance of gender equality. I believe that we have a breakthrough in the culture now. I am optimistic because one of the characteristics of the Swiss people is pragmatism. This means that when people start to see that something is useful and makes sense they will act. For example, we had the women’s strike last year and now we have 42% of women in parliament.
I want to launch a new challenge and bet on Switzerland: Let’s make Switzerland the first country to fulfill the goals of SDG 5 in the world and become fully gender equal by 2030!
What inspires you?
I am inspired by initiatives that strive to make this world a better place for all of us. I believe in people and humanity. We can progress and improve.
I see a lot of potential in the role of companies. They are such a crucial part in our economy that they can play a much more active role in shaping our future. By now companies know they are part of the problem, for example regarding climate change, but they can also be part of the solution. Neutrality is not enough. I would like to see the missions of companies to be much more intertwined with other elements of our society. Economy as a whole should put more value and emphasis on the long-term vision of our society. We need to make choices between short- and long-term wins and today those choices are too often about short term wins.
To give you an example. At Ikea we gave ourselves goals. We reached full gender equality at IKEA Switzerland in 2015. Awareness was fundamental for this. We held many workshops, sat together to analyse our employee data and discuss. We let resistant people express their concerns and the leaders were there with employees listening, sharing, encouraging. 15 years ago, when IKEA started the journey towards gender equality on a global level, one of the male country managers stood up and challenged the global CEO. He said: “All this talk about gender equality means I will not have a career anymore because I am a man?” The answer was: “No, this means you will simply have more competition than before.”
In 5 years we achieved gender equality, but it was easier because the Ikea culture is very open and inclusive. In my roles as CEO I leveraged this open culture and we made a plan how to get to a gender equal workplace. We got EDGE certified (leading global assessment and business certification for gender equality) as the first company in the world and we are still there and this is a matter of pride. We build solid policies that have to be embedded everywhere.
If you could shift one thing in this field of work, what would it be? What do you think is needed to reach a tipping point of transformation in gender equality and inclusion on a systemic level?
The emotions related to gender need to be steered towards something positive. Today men often feel guilty within the discussions around gender equality. We need to shift this. Let’s focus on a better world where everyone can be themselves. If we want to change the social norms we need to propose something new and not just destroy the current model we have.
For example, I think a four day workweek could be much more productive than a five day one. The matrix needs to change.
I believe we do have the critical mass now. We need to change the cultural norms regarding the role of women in society and in order to do that we need to showcase more role models because what we see in the media and schoolbooks are always the same traditional care or ancillary role models. Media has an important role to showcase non-stereotypical role models.
What does inclusion mean to you?
We are all different and some of those differences are more evident than others. Inclusion is to give space and a voice to everyone.
I have been writing many strategies. First of all, in writing a strategy you should hear inputs from many perspectives. You need to listen. Otherwise you'll overlook things that are important. Once you are implementing a strategy you might need to adjust. How to get to the objectives including the people is very important. The role of the leader is to raise the awareness that everyone has a voice and can be heard. If there is a majority make them aware that there are other points of view that we need to hear and consider.
Flexibility and enabling working remotely is good for both women and men. Leaders need to be clear in expectations, roles and feedback. And they need to trust and should not focus on the time when employees are present physically. We need to create the conditions so people can operate at their best. At Ikea employees can bring kids to work. Companies should not consider flexibility as a charity but as a win-win for everyone.
How do you embody inclusion in your everyday life?
At the base of all I do is my genuine interest in people. With this you are spontaneously curious and want to listen and learn from everyone. I believe we should revamp an interest for people. Especially with increasing digitalisation of work it is essential to put people and human relations in the center. We need to use technology to make people work at their best. In the retail business we have better business when we meet customers and establish an emotional connection.
On a personal note, I have 3 kids who are all dating different nationalities. I love and embrace this diversity in our family.
Interview conducted by Anna Krebs
Interview conducted by Anna Krebs
Enabling ripples of positive change
Catalyst for SDG 5
Facilitator & change-agent